UAE Joins Saudi In Taking A Pop At Fizzy Drinks

In a bid to diversify the economy away from its reliance on energy revenue, the UAE has issued a federal law to levy excise taxes on a number of selected products, namely tobacco and fizzy drinks, with effect from 1 October. An excise tax is paid on a specific good and is a percentage of the sale price.

The UAE will be following in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia which in June introduced taxes on selected products including a 100% tax on tobacco and 50% on fizzy drinks (MEES, 2 June).